Fish's Eleven [IC]

[Theocrass]

Araneus Romero
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

The small homunculus boy refilled his wine glass before calmly strolling over to Evgenia Petrova and taking a place beside her. His familiar stalked after him slowly, all the while projecting a cold, menacing presence.

Araneus' single eye alternated between looking at the Dark Lady, and looking down at his wineglass. He touched the rim to his lips and raised the glass, taking a sip of the liquid as it stained his lips.

As he lowered it, he spoke softly. "Miss Evgenia, if you have anything you'd like designed for the scouting mission, or perhaps anything you might need, just send me the blueprints and I can begin construction promptly."

He was sure females liked this sort of thing, when you made stuff for them. Still ... being this close to her was already flustering him. Honestly, though, he would have extended this same offer to anyone else in the room if he thought it would make him a friend.

His eye suddenly found the ceiling very interesting as he began speaking again. "A-And ... I would prefer if you addressed me as Aran," he added, almost bashfully. The boy's cheeks were tinged with red and, while his lips were still set in a firm line, his single eye seemed to look everywhere but at her.

[Katie]

Harley Davidson
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

Well, they had a plan, and a lovely Mystic Code to come with it. Although, why was it pink? Pink was such a terrible color. No matter. At least it wasn't exploding, and that was definitely a plus in her book. People were had some infatuation with making things explode as a backup plan. Well, at least her former partner was, and nothing quite really ended well with him. And now, it seemed, that people were splitting up into groups. The Vatican required stealth, and she was no good at that, and Vegas was a tad too crowded for her taste. That only left her home, Britain, which was fine with her. She had business there anyway.

“It’s been a while since I went to London, anyways. Who else wants to tag along..?”

"An Englishwoman, at your service," she said, grabbing the cup of tea she was drinking before the Dark Lady had arrived. She took a sip, and sighed. The current team for Britain didn't seem particularly inclined for stealth, so...

She snatched the Pink Panther off the table. "Well, the British team will be taking this, because, from what I see, none of us are particularly stealthy enough on our lonesome, don't you agree?"

[SeiKeo]

Araneus Romero
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

"Miss Evgenia, if you have anything you'd like designed for the scouting mission, or perhaps anything you might need, just send me the blueprints and I can begin construction promptly."

"Hmmmm... blueprints you say? I think I might: see what you can do." So, she thought, building? She wondered what would happen if she threw him the T-72I Block design...

"A-And ... I would prefer if you addressed me as Aran," he added, almost bashfully. The boy's cheeks were tinged with red and, while his lips were still set in a firm line, his single eye seemed to look everywhere but at her.

"You ought to not drink so much: it seems the color of the wine is getting to your cheeks! Aran, is it going to be?" Laughing out loud would be bad form, but it was hard for Evvy to not do so. Did the boy have a crush on her? "Lt. Evvy, or just Evvy if you prefer: either shall do."

[Theocrass]

Araneus Romero
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

His blush was already fading as he tested out the name. "Evvy ... "

He found it to his liking.

The homunculus took a moment to consider why his face kept getting so warm. This isn't something that had happened to him before, so he wasn't really sure what to think. Perhaps ... perhaps he was simply attracted to this woman? Is this what attraction felt like?

[MssrNeko]

The Question
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

Q notices Aran's red yet confused face.

"It's called 'having a crush', kid. Perfectly normal to have."

He gives a long dramatic sigh.

"Aaaaah...The innocence of youth and young love," he says with a hint of sarcasm. "Although...Do homunculi even go through puberty?" Q asks to no one in particular.

[Lianru]

Yijie Lan
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

Yijie was bored, and didn't feel like sleeping. Walking over to a group of people, she heard bits of a strange conversation.

"It's called 'having a crush', kid. Perfectly normal to have.
Aaaaah...The innocence of youth and young love. Although...do homunculi even go through puberty?"

............

Oh well, she was bored. Why not have some fun? She probably wouldn't have much time for it later, so she could act silly now.

"Hello, what's going on in this conversation? I heard that someone has a crush on someone else, already?" She glanced at Araneus, who was still blushing a little bit.
"Oh, I see.....haha, that's nice." Yijie giggled quietly to herself.

"So, how is everyone else doing?"

[Ace]

Dawn Anderson
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

Dawn frowned. Crushes? It reminded her of her high school years. They weren't exactly something she remembered fondly. The team to Vegas was already quite full and the Britain group was smaller... She picked up one of the orbs. "On second thought I think I'd like to see Britain," Dawn said. "Although that team seems to be lacking in stealth and scouting ability." She thought it over. Almost everyone had already revealed their specialty so which one was it that specialized in... oh right.

"Hey you," she turned to Araneus. "You said you were good at the construction of familiars? Do you mind lending one of them to us?" Cutting into the teenage drama before it can truly start was for the best.

Business before pleasure as they say.

[Theocrass]

Araneus Romero
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

He blinked.

What is a ... crush?

He narrowed his eyes as the faceless man continued. What relevance does puberty have?

He was not entirely sure what was going on at the moment. He tilted his head quizzically as the girl began giggling. I fail to understand what is so amusing about this situation. Perhaps I have said something strange?

The homunculus was glad for the distraction when he heard the woman's question. He set down his wine glass as he considered it. "I do not recall saying that I am proficient in the construction of familiars. I am skilled in the creation of equipment, structures, and Golems, but completely artificial familiars are somewhat ... weak, as I understand it. And, actually ... this-"

He gestured to the large, metal spider that had been following him around.

"-is my only familiar."

"I believe you are referring to-"

He spread his arms out as over a dozen spiders of varying sizes scurried out of his hair and clothing, and onto his arms, sides, and shoulders.

"-my spider golems. They are animated and maintained by my own magecraft, and they are not familiars. I'm afraid they would be of limited utility to you if I wasn't there to command them. You would not be able to share their senses and you would only be able to give them simple commands. And, there is another problem. I've never tried to keep something animated from so great a distance. I do not know that they would even work on another continent."

"In fact ..." he trailed off while the spider constructs scurried back into their hiding places on his body. "I do not even know if you'd be able to do that with normal familiars. I would gladly construct anything you need, but I'm afraid that as far as familiars go, I cannot help you."

He paused, a note of hesitance present in his voice as he spoke. "Although ... if you really would like to have a familiar present ... I can lend you Angel."

He gestured to his large familiar, which seemed to be glaring at the woman.

[deviatesfish]

The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

"Do you really wish to see Los Vegas that much?" I sighed, "Fine, let's drop you off there then. While there, there's something I want you to pick up... are you up for it?"

[SeiKeo]

Evgenia Petrova
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

"By all means. Side jobs are always such a pleasure."

[Erlkonig]

James Mallen
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

James nodded. "We'll keep you informed."

[Lianru]

Yijie Lan
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

"Fine, let's drop you off there then. While there, there's something I want you to pick up... are you up for it?"

"By all means. Side jobs are always such a pleasure."

Hmm.....it sounded like it (hopefully) wouldn't be too much trouble, so she would just go with it.
"I'm up to it as well, especially if someone else wants to do it. Anything I can do to help, I suppose."

[Theocrass]

Araneus Romero
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

Aran took a long drink from his wineglass before speaking. "I do not have any problem with an extra job."

[deviatesfish]

The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

"Alright, it's very simple: there's some people who like to borrow money, but they can't pay that money off. They sell something called 'high-yield bonds', in order to borrow more money to pay off their debts. In layman's terms, these bonds, which are attractive to investors because of their supposedly high returns, are also called 'junk bonds'. Some people here and there want to build a resort in Las Vegas using this method. Some of the money is already on the table, but much of it is still in their vaults. This is borrowed money...

...That's around a little less than $600 million. I want you to take it all from them. The resort is called the Mirage. I will have my contacts meet you on the outskirts of the town. While you might think that this money is in some bank in New York, much of it is already moved to this Las Vegas, ready for the taking."

I took a sip of wine before continuing.

"You might think that this is a worthwhile target, but the paltry $600 million is but a decoy target for your real target. In one of the vaults that hold a portion of this money, there is a Mystic Code that was passed down through a certain Italian family that had moved to New York around one hundred years ago. It is held there because of safety reasons for the Family, but the important thing is what this does. It looks like a necktie, but is in fact a noose that grants limited invulnerability to mana related abilities. The exact ability of this Mystic Code is unknown, but the last user of it, the previous head of the Family, was known to have killed one hundred battle-trained magi in a single night and come out unscathed.

So? Any questions? If you are done preparing, then we will depart immediately."

[Lianru]

Yijie Lan
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

So, hmm. She didn't quite understand the whole bond stuff (haha), but she was supposed
to steal some money and a Mystic Code. It sounded easy enough, given that it was already in Las Vegas for them.
"I'm okay with everything, as long as everyone else is good. It sounds like a good way to warm up."

Yijie wondered why there were always so many money-hungry people out there, storing away more riches than they would ever need in their entire lives ten times over. 600 million dollars was enough for....a lot of people.

"Well, I don't really need to prepare much. Whenever everyone else is ready, I'm ready. Are we to be dropped off at Las Vegas, then?"

[SeiKeo]

Evgenia Petrova
Nowhere, Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere, 1989

"Sounds like a job. Shall we, gang?"

[Theocrass]

Araneus Romero
The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

The homunculus cocked his head as he pondered what he had learned of this other job. A mystic code ... I would love to be able to study such a thing ...

He smoothed his long, blue hair with one hand as he considered his options. I could set up a workshop onsite if I need to, but I'd prefer to get some work done now, as well. I'll need to find a suitably large location to set up shop, preferably underground ...

Aran took a sip of wine as he continued to muse. Some raw materials to start out with would not be unappreciated ... but if they cannot be provided I can make do.

He decided to speak. "I am ready to leave, though I do have a few concerns."

The Romero boy took a second to gather his thoughts before continuing. "I was wondering what kind of accommodations we should be expected when we arrive. I require a good-sized area to set up my workshop, preferably underground. So I'd either like to be close to a structure with levels beneath the streets or be close to some undeveloped land, nature I guess you'd say."

He took a long drink from his wine. "That concern aside, I can leave immediately."

His mind was already whirling with possible designs for an underground workshop, each design accounting for minute variations in environment and the like.

[deviatesfish]

The-House-With-Legs, Somewhere 1989

I sighed, "No, you will not. If you want space, you'll have to find it yourself."

[deviatesfish]

The-House-With-Legs, Las Vegas 1989

"We're here now, if you would just step out the door, you will have reached your destination."

[Erlkonig]

James Mallen
The-House-With-Legs, Las Vegas 1989


James silently stood from his seat, and walked towards the door- "Wait." He began. "If the house had been moving before, via legs, then wouldn't opening the door lead us to... air?"